Mike Vanderjagt

To some Ravens fans, the thought of Billy Cundiff continuing to be the team’s kicker – after he hooked wide left a 32-yard attempt in January’s 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFCchampionship game – was an unappealing...

So here we go again. The Colts are 10-0 and fans are thinking undefeated season and Super Bowl. As someone who's covered this team for the past 11 seasons I can tell you that I'm not ready to hang a banner just yet. And to the team's credit, neither are...

As quarterback Kyle Boller was helped off the field, it had become painfully obvious in the season opener: The Ravens' new-look offense has the same old problems. Stalled drives, dropped passes and countless penalties proved to be disastrous in the...

Scouting report Ravens run offense vs. Colts run defense: This is where the Ravens want to establish their grind-it-out tempo. Expect a heavy dose of Jamal Lewis and Chester Taylor as the Ravens try to exploit an undersized Colts defensive front. The plan...

Although the cast of characters changes, the Ravens' improbable script for a Super Bowl sequel continues. Winning in the fourth quarter for the fifth time in six weeks, the banged-up defending champions relied on two season-long backups to overcome...

The Ravens were 74 seconds away from stealing a victory. One play later, their players and coaches were screaming they got robbed.Playing without four starters - including team leader Ray Lewis - the undermanned Ravens shocked a sellout RCA Dome crowd by...

Jim Miller needed neither ammunition nor anyone's permission to gloat Sunday. The point was so obvious, it barely needed to be made. Miller took the same team, the same teammates and essentially the same offense and did what Cade McNown had largely...

A good, sound, up-to-date NFL team is one that rotates two defensive lines, reasoning that it has a better chance to win with eight fresh pass rushers than four tiring All-Pros. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning taught that lesson to the Tampa...

Colts' offensive scheme Despite Peyton Manning's dominant performances, the Colts work best when they have a balanced attack (they have called 62 passes and 55 runs this postseason). They will spread the field often, either with a third receiver or by...

On the Bears' trip south along Interstate 57 from Bourbonnais to Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon, an Illinois state trooper pulled over the team's three buses. Seems the buses were spending too much time in the left lane. It wouldn't be the last...

Back and forth, they bickered loudly. A man in a No. 54 Brian Urlacher jersey leaned over the railing behind the Bears sideline to insult players about their wives, girlfriends and, most of all, their play. Injured safety Mike Brown gave it right back,...

Evading the clutches of the parity gods, 11 of the 12 best football clubs in America reached the NFL playoffs this year — all but super-erratic New Orleans, a winner over Dallas last week in one of the five major upsets that brought the league's...